WO2009101368A2

WO2009101368A2 - Bsas powder

Info

Publication number: WO2009101368A2
Application number: PCT/FR2009/050228
Authority: WO
Inventors: Samuel Marlin; Howard Wallar
Original assignee: Saint-Gobain Centre De Recherches Et D'etudes Europeen
Priority date: 2008-02-13
Filing date: 2009-02-13
Publication date: 2009-08-20
Also published as: EA020231B1; WO2009101368A3; CA2715176C; AU2009213932B2; CN101945835B; KR101543751B1; AU2009213932A1; JP2011514872A; KR20100129291A; CA2715176A1; EP2260012A2; CN101945835A; EP2260012B1; EA201001154A1; US20090202735A1; US8088699B2; JP5552435B2; HUE051509T2

Abstract

The invention relates to a powder that contains at least 95% in number of molten grains having the following composition, in mass percent on the basis of oxides and for a total of 100%:- 0 ≤ BaO ≤ 40.8%, - 0 ≤ SrO ≤ 31.8%, - 27.2% ≤ AI2O3 ≤ 31.3%,-32% ≤ SiO2 ≤ 36.9%, - other species ≤ 1%, wherein at least the content of one of BaO and SrO oxides is higher than 0.3%, and the size of said grains ranges from 5 to 150 microns.

Description

BSAS Powder Composite materials based on silicon carbide (SiC), and especially SiC-SiC composites, have high temperature mechanical properties particularly useful in applications such as gas turbines, heat exchangers, motors internal combustion, etc.

In aqueous environments, that is to say in the presence of water and / or water vapor, the silicon carbide-based composites, however, tend to degrade, as described in particular in US 6,254,935. To protect these composites, an environmental barrier is conventionally applied in English "environmental barrier coating", in particular in the form of a set of layers of barium-strontium silico-aluminate (BSAS). Advantageously, a BSAS environmental barrier avoids a too rapid degradation of the composites in an aqueous oxidizing environment, especially in the presence of water vapor, at high temperature. The use of BSAS as an environmental barrier element is for example described in US 2005/238888, US 6,787,195, US 7,226,668 or in the article "Residual stresses and their effects on the durability of environmental barrier coating for Sic ceramics", Kang N. Lee et al., J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 88 [12] 3483-3488 (2005) or else in the article "Upper temperature limit of environmental barrier coating on Mullite and BSAS" by Kang N. Lee et al., J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 86 [8] 1299-1306 (2003).

The environmental barrier can be manufactured using various techniques, and in particular by plasma spraying, or by impregnation from a sol-gel solution or a slip, and then heat treatment. The powders used can be mixtures of the various base oxides of BSAS, or precursors of these oxides, or powders of BSAS particles formed for example by sintering such powder mixtures. During a plasma spraying, the raw materials are sprayed in the form of fine droplets on the substrate where they cool very rapidly, thus forming an environmental barrier of lamellar structure, amorphous to more than 90% by volume, as described in US Pat. No. 6,254,935. There is a continuing need for environmental barriers based on

BSAS having improved efficiency and for methods for making such environmental barriers.

An object of the invention is to satisfy this need. Summary of the invention

According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a powder comprising at least 95%, preferably at least 99%, more preferably substantially 100% by number, of melted and preferably cast grains, said grains having the composition following chemical, called "composition according to the invention", in percentages by weight on the basis of the oxides, and for a total of 100%:

BaO <40.8%, preferably 4.6% <BaO <37.2%, preferably 25.9% <BaO <35.4%, preferably 29.8% <BaO <33.6 %, more preferably BaO: substantially equal to 31.7%, -0 <SrO <31.8%, preferably 2.8% <SrO <28.2%, preferably

4.2% <SrO <11.7%, preferably 5.7% <SrO <8.6%, more preferably substantially equal to 7.1%,

- 27.2% <Al ₂ O ₃ <31.3%, preferably 27.5% <Al ₂ O ₃ <30.8%, preferably 27.7% <Al ₂ O ₃ <28.7%, preferably 27.9% <Al ₂ O ₃ <28.3%, more preferably Al ₂ O ₃ : substantially equal to 28.1%,

- 32% <SiO ₂ <36.9%, preferably 32.4% <SiO ₂ <36.3%, preferably 32.1% [problem] <SiO ₂ <33.8%, preferably 32.9 % <SiO ₂ <33.3% more preferably SiO ₂ : substantially equal to 33.1%.

- Other species: <1%, preferably <0.7%, more preferably <0.5%, at least the content of one of the oxides BaO and SrO, or the content of each of these oxides being greater than 0.3%, the size of said grains (having a composition according to the invention) being between 5 to 150 microns.

The melting of the raw materials, necessary to manufacture this powder, allows a distribution of the different oxides within the grains more homogeneous than the distribution of these oxides in the sintered particles used according to the prior art. It also allows a more homogeneous distribution of the various oxides between the grains of the powder.

These effects of melting are further enhanced when the molten liquid has been maintained in this form for several seconds, preferably for at least 10 seconds, preferably at least one minute.

Without being bound by this theory, the inventors consider that it is this great homogeneity of the powder and grains of the powder which improves the lifetime of the environmental barrier, in particular in an aqueous environment. This homogeneity makes it possible to increase the chemical uniformity of the deposit. It therefore leads to a homogeneity of thermal expansion greater than that of a barrier obtained with the powders of the prior art. This results in a reduction in the amount of microcracks in the BSAS layer formed, which makes it possible to better protect the substrate from aggressive elements, in particular water vapor. The best chemical homogeneity of the barrier obtained from a powder of the invention also advantageously makes it possible to construct more predictable life models.

Preferably, the grains having a composition according to the invention represent more than 97% by weight, preferably more than 99%, more preferably more than 99.9%, preferably 100% of the particles of the powder according to the invention. invention.

The powder according to the invention may also comprise one or more of the following optional characteristics:

- The median size D ₅₀ of the powder is greater than 20 microns and / or less than 40 microns, a median size of about 30 microns being well suited. - The size of the grains may be greater than 5 microns, or even greater than 10 microns, or even 45 microns and / or less than 140 microns, or even less than 125 microns or less than 75 microns.

As a variant, the grain size may be greater than 10 microns and / or less than 45 microns, the median size then being preferably between 10 and 15 μm. - The grains are at least partly crystallized, especially in the celsian and hexacelsian phases. In particular, the powder according to the invention may comprise more than 90%, preferably more than 95%, more preferably more than 99%, in number, or even consist of grains in which the celsian and hexacelsian phases represent in total more 10% by volume, or even more than 15%, or even more than 20% by volume of said grains.

- The molar composition of the grains is

(BaO) _1-x (SrO) _x .Al ₂ O ₃ .SiO ₂ (1) with 0≤x <1, preferably 0.1 <x <0.9, preferably 0.15 <x <0 , 4, more preferably 0, 2 ≤ x <0.3. In one embodiment, the powder contains less than 1% by weight of mullite, preferably less than 0.1% by weight of mullite, or even no mullite.

The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a powder according to the invention comprising the following steps: a) preparing a starting charge comprising BSAS precursors, preferably at least partly in solid form, preferably all in solid form; b) melting the feedstock to form a bath of molten liquid; c) solidification of the molten liquid, after optional casting of the molten liquid bath; d) optionally, particle size reduction, in particular by grinding, and / or granulometric selection and / or shrinkage and / or atomization and / or agglomeration and then consolidation by heat treatment, the process parameters, in particular the feedstock, and in particular the nature and the amount of the precursors of the feedstock, being determined so as to obtain, after step c) or step d), a powder according to the invention.

Advantageously, this process makes it possible to produce BSAS grains more productively than by sintering methods. The grains advantageously also have a high chemical homogeneity, that is to say that substantially all the grains of the powder have a substantially identical chemical composition.

The powder obtained by this process is of very high purity, in particular it does not contain mullite. Advantageously, this purity makes it possible to reduce the rate of corrosion with water vapor.

In step b), the melting may in particular be carried out by means of a plasma torch, a plasma furnace, an induction furnace or, preferably, an arc furnace. Preferably, the melt holding time is greater than 10 seconds, preferably 1 minute, which excludes the use of a plasma torch. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing an environmental barrier, in particular for protecting the walls of a gas turbine, a heat exchanger or an internal combustion engine, by flame projection or plasma projection of a melt obtained from a starting mixture comprising a powder according to the invention. The starting mixture may contain only grains according to the invention, but alternatively, other grains, and in particular mullite grains, may be added. These other grains can notably promote the dilatometric agreement between the substrate and the BSAS environmental barrier. The invention finally relates to a gas turbine, a heat exchanger, and an internal combustion engine comprising an environmental barrier obtained from a powder according to the invention.

As will be seen in more detail in the following description, this environmental barrier advantageously has a very high chemical homogeneity and is particularly resistant over time.

Brief description of figures

Other characteristics and advantages will become apparent on reading the following description and on examining the appended drawing in which: FIG. 1 represents the X-ray diffraction diagrams obtained for a powder of a comparative example (referenced " 2 ") and for a powder according to the invention (referenced" 1 "), the abscissa axis representing the angular range 2Θ considered, the diffraction peaks marked" B "being BSAS diffraction peaks and the peaks of diffraction marked "M" being mullite diffraction peaks; - Figures 2 and 3 show maps of a powder according to the invention and a powder according to the prior art, respectively. Four photographs make it possible to visualize, for each cartography, the distribution of the elements barium, strontium, silicon and aluminum.

Definitions

The percentiles or "percentiles" 10 (D ₁₀ ), 50 (D ₅₀ ), and 90 (D ₉₀ ) are the grain sizes corresponding to the percentages, by number, of 10%, 50%, and 90% respectively, on the Cumulative particle size distribution curve of the grain sizes of the powder, the grain sizes being ranked in ascending order. For example, 10%, by volume, of the grains of the powder have a size less than D ₁₀ and

90% of the grains by volume have a size greater than D ₁₀ . Percentiles can be determined using a particle size distribution using a laser granulometer. D ₅₀ corresponds to the "median size" of a set of grains, that is to say the size dividing the grains of this set into first and second populations equal in number, these first and second populations containing only grains having a size greater or smaller, respectively, than the median size. The "size" of a particle is its largest dimension measured on an image of that particle. The measurement of the particle size of a powder is made from an image of this powder poured onto a self-adhesive marker.

By "precursor" of BSAS is meant a constituent whose at least one of the elements may be incorporated into the BSAS of a grain according to the invention during its manufacture. The BSAS sintered particle powders used according to the prior art, the powders of alumina, silica, BaO, BaCO ₃ , SrO and SrCO ₃ are examples of precursors.

By "impurities" is meant the inevitable constituents, necessarily introduced with the raw materials or resulting from reactions with these constituents. Impurities are not necessary constituents, but only tolerated. The "other species" constituting the 100% complement of the grains having a composition according to the invention comprise the impurities and, preferably, consist of impurities. By "melted product" is meant a product obtained by cooling solidification of a bath of molten liquid.

By "cast product" is meant a product obtained by a process in which a bath of molten liquid has been prepared and then poured, for example into a mold, to cool. The pouring may also be made in a liquid or used to produce a stream of molten liquid. Blowing, for example with a gas, can then be carried out through this net to produce droplets.

A "bath of molten liquid" is a mass which, to maintain its shape, must be contained in a container. A bath of molten liquid may contain solid parts, but not enough so that they can structure said mass.

In the formula (1) giving a preferred molar composition of the grains according to the invention, 0 <x <1. When x is equal to 0, the grains according to the invention consist of strontium aluminosilicate (SAS). When x is 1, the grains according to the invention consist of barium aluminosilicate (BAS). For the sake of clarity, in this description, "BSAS" means all products of

BSAS, SAS or BAS having a composition according to the invention, and in particular the products whose composition corresponds to formula (1), even if x = 0 or x = 1. To manufacture a powder according to the invention, it is possible to proceed according to a process comprising steps a) to d), in particular as described in detail below.

In step a), precursor powders are mixed to form a substantially homogeneous mixture. Preferably, the precursors preferably comprise oxides, especially BaO, SrO, SiO ₂ and Al ₂ O ₃ , and / or precursors of these oxides, for example in the form of carbonate or nitrate, and or BSAS powders according to the prior art.

According to the invention, those skilled in the art adjust the composition of the feedstock so as to obtain, after the melting step b), a mass of molten liquid having a composition in accordance with that of the grains. according to the invention.

The chemical analysis of the grains is generally substantially identical to that of the feedstock, at least as regards the elements Ba, Sr, Al and Si. In addition, if necessary, for example to take account of the presence of volatile oxides, or to account for loss of SiO ₂ when the melting is operated under reducing conditions, the skilled person knows how to adapt the composition of the feedstock accordingly.

Preferably, any ingredient other than BaO, SrO, SiO _2, Al ₂ O _3, precursors of these oxides and a BSAS particle powder according to the prior art, in particular sintered or obtained by "spray pyrolysis", is introduced voluntarily in the feedstock, the other oxides present being impurities.

In step b), the feedstock is melted, preferably in an electric arc furnace. Electrofusion makes it possible to manufacture large quantities of product with interesting yields. But all known furnaces are conceivable, such as an induction furnace, a solar oven or a plasma furnace, for example, provided that they allow to melt, preferably completely, the starting charge. The conditions can be oxidizing or reducing, oxidizing preferences. If the melting takes place under a reducing atmosphere, it will however be necessary to then carry out a heat treatment in an oxygenated atmosphere for re-oxidation of the BSAS powder obtained.

To obtain a well oxidized powder, it is therefore preferable to carry out the fusion under oxidizing conditions.

Preferably, the fusion under oxidizing conditions takes place in short arcs. In step b), the melting is preferably carried out thanks to the combined action of an electric arc, short or long, not producing a reduction, and a stirring favoring the reoxidation of the products.

The arc fusion process described in French Patent No. 1,208,577 and its additions Nos. 75893 and 82310 may be used.

This method consists in using an electric arc furnace whose arc gushes between the load and at least one electrode spaced from this load and adjusting the length of the arc so that its reducing action is reduced to a minimum, while maintaining a oxidizing atmosphere above the bath of molten liquid and stirring said bath, either by the action of the arc itself, or by bubbling in the bath an oxidizing gas (air or oxygen, for example) or adding to the bath oxygen-releasing substances such as peroxides.

The liquid resulting from the melting is preferably maintained in melt for a minimum duration, preferably greater than 10 seconds, more preferably greater than 1 minute, so as to promote its chemical homogenization. The holding time in the liquid form for a duration greater than 10 seconds makes it possible to obtain a particularly homogeneous liquid before pouring. In contrast, droplets obtained by plasma spraying during the manufacture of environmental barriers according to the prior art are conventionally formed by melting a powder of sintered grains or a mixture of powders of BSAS precursor oxides but are cooled almost immediately after their fusion, which does not promote chemical homogenization.

In step c), the molten liquid bath is preferably cast. It can be poured into a mold, in a cooling liquid, for example water, or dispersed, for example by blowing, all these processes being well known.

In particular, a stream of molten liquid may be dispersed into small liquid droplets which, as a result of the surface tension, take, for the majority of them, a substantially spherical shape. This dispersion can be carried out by blowing, in particular with air and / or steam, or by any other method of atomizing a melt known to those skilled in the art. The cooling resulting from the dispersion leads to the solidification of the liquid droplets. We then obtain melted and cast BSAS grains conventionally having a size of 0.1 to 4 mm.

Alternatively, the melt can be cast in water without blowing. In one embodiment, the cooling rate is adapted to crystallize at least 10% by volume, or at least 20% by volume, of the material being solidified. It is therefore necessary to avoid a too sudden cooling or to provide a heat treatment of crystallization. In step d), the size of the melted and cast products obtained in step c) is optionally adjusted. For this purpose, the melted or cast blocks or grains may be milled and then granulometric sorted.

Before the granulometric sorting operation, which can in particular be carried out by sieving or by air separation, the particles may undergo a de-ironing treatment aimed at reducing, or even eliminating, the magnetic particles possibly introduced into the BSAS powder during the grinding step.

After step c), or, where appropriate, after step d), the powder may also be further converted by atomization, or by agglomeration and consolidation by heat treatment, in order to be perfectly adapted to the intended application . In particular for projection applications, the grain size is preferably greater than 5 microns, even greater than 10 microns, or even 45 microns and / or less than 140 microns, or even less than 125 microns or less than 75 microns. The sizes are preferably chosen according to the desired thickness and porosity for the environmental barrier, and may especially be in the following ranges: 10-63; 5-25; 10-45; 45-75; 45-125 microns.

In particular for applications involving casting of a slip, the grain size is preferably less than 45 microns, the median diameter being preferably between 10 and 15 microns.

The powder according to the invention can be amorphous if the cooling has been very rapid or partially crystallized. Unlike amorphous grains, partially crystallized grains are not transparent. In particular, the powder according to the invention may comprise more than 90%, or even more than 95%, or even more than 99%, in number, or even consist of grains in which the celsian and hexacelsian phases represent in total more than 10 % by volume, or even more than 15%, or even more than 20% by volume.

The amount of celsian and hexacelsian phases is typically determined by powder X-ray diffraction using the Rietveld method with an external standard and applying Briendley's correction. The standard deviation "σ" to estimate the homogeneity of the distribution of an oxide in a grain can be evaluated by "n" measurements or "points", at randomly selected locations in the grain, in the same way next :

z denotes the mass content of the oxide considered measured locally at the location of the "/" point in the grain, and z denotes the average mass content of the oxide considered in the grain, obtained

by arithmetically averaging the values Z ₁ , that is to say z = - V z,. ι = l

Preferably n is greater than 3, preferably 5, more preferably 10.

The relative standard deviation or "coefficient of variation", denoted σ _R , expressed as a percentage of the mean is calculated as follows:

σ _R = 100 x (σ / z)

In one embodiment according to the invention, more than 80%, or even more than 90% by weight, more than 95%, more than 99%, and even substantially 100% of the grains have the following relative standard deviations σ _R :

For SiO ₂ : σ _RS ιθ ₂ is less than 4%, preferably less than 3%, preferably less than 1%, more preferably less than 0.5%, and

For AI ₂ O ₃ : σ _{R A} ₁₂ O ₃ is less than 4%, preferably less than 3%, preferably less than 1%, more preferably less than 0.5%, and

For BaO: σ _{R Ba} o is less than 15%, preferably less than 10%, preferably less than 3%, more preferably less than 1%, and

For SrO: σ _{R Sr} o is less than 15%, preferably less than 10%, preferably less than 3%, more preferably less than 1%. In an embodiment according to the invention, more than 40%, by weight, or even more than 60%, more than 80%, more than 95%, more than 99%, and even substantially 100% of the grains have deviations. relative types σ _R following:

For SiO ₂ : σ _RS ιθ ₂ is less than 3%, preferably less than 1%, more preferably less than 0.5%, and For AI ₂ O ₃ : σ _{R A1203} is less than 3%, preferably less than 1%, more preferably less than 0.5%, and

- For BaO: σ _{R Ba} o is less than 10%, preferably less than 3%, more preferably less than 1%, and - For SrO: σ _{R Sr} o is less than 10%, preferably less than 3% more preferably less than 1%.

In one embodiment according to the invention, more than 20%, by weight, or even more than 30%, more than 40%, more than 50%, or even more than 60%, of the grains have relative standard deviations σ _R following: - For SiO ₂ : σ _RS ιθ ₂ is less than 1%, more preferably less than 0.5%, and

For Al ₂ O ₃ : σ _{R A1203} is less than 1%, more preferably less than 0.5%, and

For BaO: σ _{R Ba} o is less than 3%, more preferably less than 1%, and

For SrO: σ _{R Sr} o is less than 3%, more preferably less than 1%.

In one embodiment according to the invention, more than 10%, by weight, or even more than 15%, more than 20%, more than 25%, or even more than 30%, of the grains have relative standard deviations σ _R following:

For SiO ₂ : σ _RS ιθ ₂ is less than 0.5%, and

- For AI ₂ O ₃ : σ _{R A12} 03 is less than 0.5%, and

- For BaO: σ _{R Ba} o is less than 1%, and - For SrO: σ _{R Sr} o is less than 1%.

The standard deviation "σ" "to estimate the homogeneity of the distribution of an oxide between the different grains in a powder can be evaluated by" n "measurements made on grains of the powder chosen randomly, from the following way:

- z ', denotes the mass content of the oxide in the grain "/ ^' " of the powder, possibly calculated by an arithmetic mean between several local measurements on this grain, and

z 'denotes the average mass content of the oxide considered on the "n" grains chosen. This content is obtained by arithmetically averaging the values z), i.e. = Iç _z . \ Preferably n 'is greater than 5, preferably greater than or equal to 10. The relative standard deviation is then σ _R ' = 100 x (σ '/ z')

Preferably according to the invention, the relative standard deviations σ _R 'on the oxide contents of the powder, considering only grains having a composition in accordance with the invention, are such that:

For SiO ₂ : σ _R ' _S ιθ ₂ is less than 4%, preferably less than 2%, preferably less than 1, 5%, more preferably less than 1%, and

- For AI ₂ O _3: σ _R _'A ι ₂ o3 is less than 4%, preferably less than 2%, preferably less than 1, 5%, more preferably less than 1%, and - for BaO: σ _{R Ba} o is less than 15%, preferably less than 10%, preferably less than 6%, more preferably less than 1%, and

- For SrO: σ ' _{R Sr} o is less than 15%, preferably less than 10%, preferably less than 6%, more preferably less than 1%.

A powder according to the invention can be used for the manufacture of an environmental barrier, in particular for protecting the walls of a gas turbine, a heat exchanger or an internal combustion engine, by flame projection or projection plasma.

For this purpose, the powder is conventionally melted and then projected in the form of fine droplets on the wall to be protected where they solidify by rapid cooling.

In one embodiment, the droplets are projected onto an intermediate layer, for example mullite, SiO ₂ , mullite-barium strontium aluminosilicate, yttrium-mullite silicate, mullite-calcium aluminosilicate or silicon metal. This intermediate layer may itself be fixed to the wall to be protected by means of a bonding layer, for example silicon metal, deposited on this wall, preferably cleaned beforehand, for example by shot blasting. Before deposition of the BSAS layer, the intermediate layer may undergo a heat treatment, for example at about 1250 ^° C., for about 24 hours.

In some applications, the projected material is obtained by melting a mixture of a powder according to the invention and other powders, in particular a mullite powder.

Thermal spraying can be carried out at a temperature of between 870 ^° C. and 1200 ^° C. The thickness of the environmental barrier may be greater than 10 μm, or greater than 50 μm, or even 75 μm and / or less than 750 μm, or even less than 125 μm.

All the known methods for producing an environmental barrier are conceivable, and in particular those described in US Pat. No. 6,254,935 or US Pat. No. 6,387,456, incorporated by reference.

The following nonlimiting examples are given for the purpose of illustrating the invention.

In these examples, the following raw materials employed were chosen, the percentages given being percentages by weight: Al ₂ O ₃ alumina powder (trade name AR75), marketed by the company ALCAN, the purity of which is greater than 99% by weight. mass and whose median size D ₅₀ is 90 μm;

- Powder BaCC> 3, marketed by SPCH, whose purity at E.D.T.A. is greater than 99% by weight and whose sieve pass of 45 μm is greater than 98%;

SrCO ₃ powder, marketed by SPCH, the EDTA purity of which is greater than 96% by mass and the sieve pass of 45 μm is greater than

99%;

Sedimentary silica sand, sold by the company SIFRACO, of particle size 0 to 1 mm.

A 50 Kg feedstock having the following chemical composition, in percentages by weight, was prepared from the above raw materials:

AI ₂ O ₃ : 25%

SiO ₂ : 29.5%

BaCO ₃ : 36.5%

SrCO ₃ : 9%

The starting charge thus obtained was poured into a Herault type arc melting furnace. A short arc fusion was performed so that the entire mixture was melted completely and homogeneously. The conditions of preparation were oxidizing. The applied voltage was 450 Volts at startup and then 325 Volts in steady state. The applied energy was about 1800 kWh / T of raw materials. The temperature of the molten liquid measured during casting was between 1900 and 2100 ^° C.

The molten liquid was then poured into water at room temperature. The product obtained was in the form of pieces of a few millimeters, dark color and non-transparent. These pieces were then milled in a jaw crusher, then in a roller mill with a set pressure on the rolls equal to 15 bar.

Sieve selection was then carried out in order to select the grains of the powder having a size of between 100 and 250 microns and those having a size less than 100 microns. The fraction 100 - 250 microns was then milled in a jar spin with zirconia ball partially stabilized with magnesia, for 30 minutes. Sieving was then performed to select for grains smaller than 100 microns in size. The two powders below 100 microns selected were then combined and then underwent an air turbine classification step so as to select the grains of the powder having a size between 10 and 45 microns.

The powder of the comparative example is a prior art BSAS sintered grain powder available on the market having a D ₉₀ measured at 55.5 μm, a D ₅₀ measured at 31.2 μm and a D ₁₀ measured at 16.7 μm.

Chemical analyzes and X-ray diffraction patterns, in particular for identifying the crystalline phases, were carried out on ground samples at a median size D _{50 of} less than 40 μm and representative of the powder obtained.

The chemical analysis was performed by X-ray fluorescence and microprobe.

Table 1 provides the mass compositions of the powders tested and the phases identified.

Table 1

Table 2 summarizes the contents of the main impurities Table 2

nd: not determined In the powder according to the invention, substantially 100% of the grains simultaneously comprise SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , SrO and BaO. In the powder of the comparative example, less than 90% of the grains simultaneously present these four oxides. The chemical homogeneity between the different grains of the powder according to the invention is therefore remarkable.

FIG. 1 shows that the powder of the comparative example (diagram 2) contains mullite, unlike the powder according to the invention tested, where substantially 100% of the grains are BSAS grains.

As appears in the different photos of FIG. 3, the powder according to the invention tested is single-phase and particularly homogeneous. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 4, the powder according to the prior art consists of two types of grains of very different morphology and composition.

Table 3 illustrates the chemical homogeneity within the grains of the powder of the invention tested, and Table 4 summarizes the chemical analyzes carried out within the BSAS grains of the powder of the prior art.

Table 3

Table 4 (prior art)

Finally, Table 5 illustrates the remarkable chemical homogeneity between the different grains of the powder according to the invention.

For each oxide considered, the average contents "z" of the grains of the powder according to the invention tested in Table 3 were averaged to calculate z ', that is,

The standard deviation σ 'was determined as follows:

For example, for AI ₂ O ₃ , the average z 'is the mean over the 10 grains of the averages obtained on the 5 dots made on each of these grains.

Table 5

The same analysis on the chemical analyzes performed on the 10 grains of the prior art powder of Table 4 gives the results shown in Table 6.

As it is now clear, the grains of the powder according to the invention have a remarkable chemical homogeneity. The powder itself has a great homogeneity, practically all the grains all having substantially the same chemical composition. These results would explain the good performance of the powders according to the invention when they are incorporated into a starting mixture for an environmental barrier coating. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown as illustrative and non-limiting examples.

Claims

1. Powder comprising at least 95% by number of melted grains, having the following chemical composition, in percentages by weight on the basis of the oxides, and for a total of 100%:

- 0 <BaO <40.8%,

- 0 <SrO <31, 8%,

- 27.2% <AI ₂ O ₃ <31.3%,

- 32% <SiO ₂ <36.9%, - Other species <1%, at least the content of one of the oxides BaO and SrO being greater than 0.3%, the size of said grains being between 5 to 150 microns .

2. Powder according to the preceding claim, wherein said grains have the following chemical composition: 4.6% <BaO <37.2%, and / or

- 2.8% <SrO <28.2%, and / or

- 27,5% <AI ₂ O ₃ <30,8%, and / or

- 32.4% <SiO ₂ <36.3%, and / or

- Other species <0.7%.

3. Powder according to the preceding claim, wherein said grains have the following chemical composition:

- 25.9% <BaO <35.4%, and / or,

4.2% <SrO <1 1, 7%, and / or,

- 27,7% <AI ₂ O ₃ <28,7%, and / or - 32,1% <SiO ₂ <33,8%, and / or

- Other species <0,5%.

4. Powder according to the preceding claim, wherein said grains have the following chemical composition:

- 29.8% <BaO <33.6%, and / or - 5.7% <SrO <8.6%, and / or

- 27,9% <AI ₂ O ₃ <28,3%, and / or

- 32.9% <SiO ₂ <33.3%.

5. Powder according to the preceding claim, wherein said grains have the following chemical composition:

- BaO: 31.7%, and / or

SrO: 7.1%, and / or AI ₂ O ₃ : 28.1%, and / or

- SiO ₂ : 33.1%.

The powder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the size of said grains is greater than 10 microns.

The powder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the size of said grains is less than 125 microns.

8. Powder according to the preceding claim, wherein the size of said grains is less than 45 microns.

9. Powder according to any one of the preceding claims, having a median size D _{50 of} less than 40 microns.

10. Powder according to the preceding claim, having a median size D ₅₀ of between 10 and 15 microns.

1. The powder according to any one of claims 1 to 9, having a median size D ₅₀ greater than 20 microns.

12. Powder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the grains are at least partially crystallized.

13. Powder according to the preceding claim wherein the celsian and hexacelsian phases represent in total more than 10% by volume of said grains.

14. Powder according to the preceding claim wherein the celsian and hexacelsian phases represent in total more than 20% by volume of said grains.

15. The powder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said grains representing more than 99% by number of the particles of said powder.

16. Powder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein more than 80% by weight of said grains have a chemical homogeneity such that: the relative standard deviation for SiO ₂ , σ _RS ιθ ₂ , is less than 4%, and the relative standard deviation for AI ₂ O ₃ , σ _{R A12} 03, is less than 4%, and the relative standard deviation for BaO, σ _{R Ba} o, is less than 15%, and the standard deviation relative for SrO, σ _{R Sr} o, is less than 15%, the relative standard deviation σ _R for an oxide being calculated by the following formula: σ _R = 10O x (σ / z), where

n denotes the number of measurements, greater than 3, at randomly selected locations in the grain considered, z, denotes the mass content of the oxide considered locally measured at the "/" location of the grain, and z designates the average mass content of the oxide considered in the grain, obtained by arithmetically averaging the z values.

17. Powder according to the preceding claim, wherein the relative standard deviation for SiO ₂ , σ _RS ιθ ₂ , is less than 3%, and / or - the relative standard deviation for Al ₂ O ₃ , σ _{R A12.} 03, is less than 3%, and / or the relative standard deviation for BaO, σ _{R Ba} o, is less than 10%, and / or the relative standard deviation for SrO, σ _{R Sr} o, is lower than at 10%.

Powder according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the relative standard deviations σ _R 'on the oxide contents of the powder, considering only grains having the following chemical composition, in percentages by weight on the basis of oxides, and for a total of 100%:

- 0 <BaO <40.8%,

- 0 <SrO <31, 8%,

- 27.2% <Al ₂ O ₃ <31.3%, - 32% <SiO ₂ <36.9%, other species <1%, at least the content of one of the oxides BaO and SrO being greater than 0 , 3%, the size of said grains being between 5 to 150 microns, are such that: the relative standard deviation for SiO ₂ , σ _R ' _S ιθ ₂ , is less than 4%, and - the standard deviation relative for AI ₂ O ₃ , σ _R Αι ₂ o3, is less than 4%, and the relative standard deviation for BaO, σ ' _RB ao, is less than 15%, and the relative standard deviation for SrO, σ ' _R s _r o, is less than 15%, the relative standard deviation σ _R 'for an oxide being calculated by the following formula:

σ _R '= 100 x (σ7 z'), where

n 'denotes the number of grains considered, greater than 5, - z' denotes the mass content of the oxide in the grain "/" of the powder,

z 'denotes the average mass content of the oxide considered on the "n" grains chosen.

19. Powder according to the preceding claim, wherein: the relative standard deviation for SiO ₂ , σ _R ' _S ιθ2, is less than 1, 5%, and / or - the relative standard deviation for Al ₂ O ₃ , σ _R ' _A ι ₂ o3, is less than 1, 5%, and / or the relative standard deviation for BaO, σ' _{R Ba} o, is less than 6%, and / or the relative standard deviation for SrO, σ ' _{R Sr} o, is less than 6%.

20. A method of manufacturing a powder, comprising the following steps: a) preparing a starting feedstock comprising BSAS precursors, b) melting the feedstock so as to form a bath of molten liquid; c) solidification of the molten liquid; d) optionally, particle size reduction and / or granulometric selection and / or shrinkage and / or atomization and / or agglomeration and consolidation by heat treatment, the starting load being determined so that after step c) or in step d) the powder is in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.

21. Method according to the preceding claim wherein, in step b), the bath is maintained in melt for a duration greater than 10 seconds.

22. Method according to the preceding claim, wherein, in step b), the bath is maintained in melt for a duration greater than 1 minute.

The method of any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein, in step c), the molten liquid bath is poured to form a stream of molten liquid, said net being dispersed in liquid droplets. .

24. A method of manufacturing an environmental barrier, in particular for protecting the walls of a gas turbine, by flame projection or plasma projection of a melt obtained from a starting mixture comprising a powder according to one of any of claims 1 to 19.

25. Device selected from a gas turbine, a heat exchanger and an internal combustion engine, comprising an environmental barrier obtained from a powder according to any one of claims 1 to 19 or by means of a method according to any one of claims 20 to 24.